Ontelly

When Romeo Met Juliet - Episode 2

Logo for When Romeo Met Juliet - Episode 2

After rehearsing Romeo and Juliet separately, the two schools are now ready to work together. It will be the first time Romeo gets to meet Juliet, and 17-year-old Glody (who has never acted before) and 15-year-old Beth begin to feel the pressure of the leading roles as the young cast move into full production on neutral ground, Coventry University's media and arts centre. Their mentors - Hustle star and RADA-trained Adrian Lester and his actress wife Lolita Chakrabarti - help the teenage actors to unlock the complexities of Shakespeare's language, while director Paul Roseby takes them through some of the bawdiest bits of the play. He has set it in Coventry in 1981 - with the Montagues as rude boys and the Capulets skinheads - so the cast are also being taught how to stage fight. But will they ever be ready to go on stage?